Showing posts with label Guest Post. Show all posts

Friday, September 04, 2026

SleuthSayers: Going After Publicity for Your (small, precious) Book

SleuthSayers: Going After Publicity for Your (small, precious) Book: So you've got a novel coming out? If you are with one of the Big Five publishers - Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Simo...

Tuesday, September 01, 2026

Mystery Fanfare: The Art Heist: Guest Post by Claudia Hagadus Long

Mystery Fanfare: The Art Heist: Guest Post by Claudia Hagadus Long: I have a really hard time killing anyone. For a normal person, not being able to murder would be, well, expected. Or at least hoped for. But...

Sunday, August 30, 2026

Mystery Fanfare: How 20 years of Southwest Backcountry Hiking Inspired a Mystery About a Grieving Archaeologist: Guest Post by Skye Griffith

Mystery Fanfare: How 20 years of Southwest Backcountry Hiking Inspi...: My journey writing Bone Hash , developed from years of adventures on the Colorado Plateau. Ever since I visited Mesa Verde National Park, I’...

Guest Post: The Detective Prays with His Eyes Open by D. L. Gray

Please welcome author D. L. Gray to the blog today. Article 7 is the first book in his new mystery series featuring a detective of deep religious faith. It is available to preorder from the publisher, Saint Dominics Media.

The Detective Prays with His Eyes Open

When I tell many of my friends and potential readers that my detective is a lay Dominican brother who unlocks a Cleveland church at seven and runs skip-traces by nine, I see the flinch arrive. It is a perceptible and honest flinch. I imagine they have been burned before. They bought a crime novel and got handed a tract with a body in it, and they have learned to smell an altar call three chapters out. So let me put my working rule on the table first: if the reader can smell the sermon coming, I have already failed twice. Once as a novelist, and once as a man selling a book under an honest label.

Here is the thing, though. The praying detective is not a trespasser in this genre. He helped found it. Father Brown was solving murders decades before Philip Marlowe took his first retainer, and Chesterton’s whole trick was that the little priest’s religion was not a message but a method. The confessional had taught him what people actually are. Harry Kemelman ran the same engine on Talmud with Rabbi Small, and Ellis Peters ran it on the cloister with Brother Cadfael. None of those books preach, because in none of them is the faith decoration. It is the lens. So the craft question was never whether a praying man belongs at the center of a crime novel. The question is what the praying does on the page.

I gave myself three rules when I wrote ARTICLE 7.

First rule: the prayer has to do detective work, not be his work. My Brock H. Winters is a pardoned felon, a forensic accountant by instinct, and the sacristan of St. Joseph’s. The night before the worst day of his life, he walks the arena district at one in the morning and prays the perimeter. By name, where he has names. For the candidate asleep in her hotel. For the old cop walking a sector on bad knees. And for a would-be shooter he believes he has never met. He prays for that unknown young man, as the book says, with real love and total blindness, not knowing he has already taught that boy the bells. That prayer is a surveillance sweep, a threat inventory, and a piece of dramatic irony wearing a devotion. My test is simple: If I can cut a prayer and the case does not change, the prayer goes.

Second rule: the code must cost, and never pay. Every private eye worth his license carries a code. Marlowe had one. Spenser recited his. Brock’s is just older and better notarized: the Rule of the Dominican Brothers of Saint Joseph, thirteen articles, seven centuries old, and the seventh article is the reason he takes a case he knows better than to take. On the page, a code is only interesting when it removes options. Brock cannot hand a grieving woman the comforting lie that would end her questions, because, in his words, a laundered lie is a forged entry, and he went to prison once for exactly that. Faith that solves the hero’s problems is a cheat code. Faith that creates them is an engine. Nobody has ever called Marlowe’s code a sermon, and the reason is that it never once paid him either.

Third rule: keep the actual sermon offstage – don’t preach to the reader. There is exactly one homily in my novel, and the reader never hears a word of it. What the reader gets is the review Brock hands his pastor in the sacristy afterward: “Three points and a boat. Bishop Sheen sleeps secure.” God, meanwhile, keeps His own counsel during business hours. Prayers in this book get interrupted by the case, go unanswered for weeks, or get answered sideways and late, and the interruptions are the honest part. There is a scene where Brock kneels for his nightly examen and the stakeout rolls in uninvited and, as he puts it, parks itself between two sins he was fonder of. Any praying reader will recognize that man. Any noir reader will recognize him too, because prayer occupies the exact slot the genre has always kept for what a detective does with his solitude. Marlowe played chess against dead masters. Bosch has his jazz. Brock has a kneeler, a notebook, and a habit of praying the way a prison guard eats: fast, standing up, before something happens.

Underneath all three rules is the one conviction I carried over from my first writing life, which was Catholic theology. Theology tells you what is true. Fiction gives you a beautiful image of what it costs. A doctrine can be stated correctly in one sentence and still leave a man with no idea what it would do to him. Crime fiction has never had that problem. Cost is our native currency. The whole genre is a ledger where we tally what our codes charge us, which is why a praying man does not break a crime novel. He balances it.

ARTICLE 7 is the first novel of the Brock H. Winters series: a man vanishes from an ordinary Cleveland job, nobody comes looking except the woman who lit a candle for him, and the pardoned felon she asks to find him has seventeen days to learn who is watching whom in an American city. D. L. Gray is the fiction byline of David L. Gray, whose books on Catholic history and doctrine run under his own name. He comes from the Cleveland area and writes from Germany. ARTICLE 7 is available in paperback, hardcover, and ebook. Follow the series at BROCKHWINTERS.COM.

Sunday, August 23, 2026

Guest Post: Finding My Funny Bone by Catherine Dilts

Please welcome author Catherine Dilts to the blog today. She and her daughter, Melinda Bass, co-authored Grandpa’s New Year’s Relocation. Published by Top Hat Cat Publishing LLC, the read released last December, with the second book in the series, Grandma's Valentine Abduction, releasing last February.

Finding My Funny Bone by Catherine Dilts

In the animated movie Finding Nemo, the father and son main characters are clownfish. When Marlin meets the other fathers in Nemo’s school, the guys have high expectations for humor.

PHIL: Hey! You're a clownfish. You're funny, right? Hey, tell us a joke.

MARLIN: Well, actually that's a common misconception. Clownfish are no funnier than any other fish.

PHIL: Aw, c'mon, clowny.

TED: Yeah, do somethin' funny.

Marlin butchers a joke, totally deflating expectations.

I empathize with Marlin. Finding the humorous angle in a life situation is way different than popping off a wisecrack spontaneously. But I found that I continuously injected humor into my short stories and novels.

The downside to discovering my skill at writing humorous tales was my fear that readers would expect me to be that witty in real life. I’m actually pretty drab and socially awkward.

How am I supposed to sell my laugh-out-loud books when my presentation is so boring?

My family has endured the usual tragedies over the generations, and then some. One thread that ran through the decades is that my ancestors had a sense of humor. As far back as I’m aware, they had the ability to laugh at their dire situations.

My philosophy has been, if you can laugh or cry, why not laugh? It’s not always possible or appropriate, but when I’m able, I choose laughter.

This is a trait I’m proud to have passed on to my daughter, Merida Bass. When we decided to co-author a young adult science fiction novel, we had the most fun creating Ellis. The absurd, lovelorn scammer had the funniest moments. We were both discovering a knack for comedy.

Then one fateful night, while standing in a Texas hotel parking lot in the dark, my sister warned us about the dangers of human traffickers. She made sure we were listening as she informed us that ruthless people would snatch anyone off the streets. Anyone! The sharp look she gave us both indicated that even we, despite our obvious status as mature women, a mom and grandma, were still potential victims.

Of course we thought the scenario was ridiculous. But we didn’t tell her that! The humor gene didn’t pass down to everyone in my family equally.

Stressed from our trip – a memorial service for my father – my daughter and I did the only thing we could. On the flight home, we erupted in giggles as we crafted a humorous angle out of my sister’s dire warning. What if followed what if, and the Ninja Grandparent Placement Mysteries was born.

Grandpa’s New Year’s Relocation won the Colorado Authors League award in the humor/satire category. We proved we could write humor.

But would our attempts to sell the book in person result in a scene like Marlin, trying to be funny on demand and failing?

I’ve had the privilege of speaking at events recently. To my surprise, when I chat about real-life inspirations for my fiction, people find them humorous. Mishaps during my factory worker life? Taking out my frustrations by killing an office co-worker in a murder mystery? Even the fear of being kidnapped as a senior citizen could elicit laughs.

Like Marlin, my deliberate attempts to make people laugh often fall flat. Letting scenarios build, creating recurring jokes and callbacks, and placing characters in absurd situations, seems to work best.

Sometimes, hitting your funny bone can be excruciatingly painful. In Grandpa’s New Year’s Relocation, my co-author and I found our funny bones. The result has been laugh-out-loud fun.

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4hFszBm

SERIES Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4quSH4r

After being tormented by a co-worker, Catherine Dilts took out her homicidal frustration in fiction, resulting in her first short story sale to Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. She has since had a dozen stories published in AHMM. After a career in environmental compliance for a global corporation, Catherine now writes fiction full-time. Author of the Rose Creek Mystery series, she also co-authors The Tapestry Tales YA science fiction series and the Ninja Grandparent Placement Mysteries with her daughter, Merida Bass. Grandpa’s New Year’s Relocation won the 2026 Colorado Authors League award in the humor/satire category.

You can find Catherine’s website at https://www.catherinedilts.com/

Her free newsletter is on Substack at https://catherinedilts.substack.com/

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

Lesa's Book Critiques: Kevin’s Corner Annex – Gold in Them Texas Hills by Russ Hall

Guest Post: An Interview with Carolyn Haines by Joan Leotta

Earlier this week, Joan Leotta reviewed the new book, Joy to the Bones. Today, she has an interview with the author, Carolyn Haines.

An Interview with Carolyn Haines by Joan Leotta

Author, Carolyn Haines, was gracious enough to expand on the small paragraph that appears in the back of Joy to the Bones through an interview for this blog. I found her replies to my questions a lot like a guide to starting and finishing a mystery series.

Q: What made you decide to stop writing this very successful thirty-odd book series? Are you planning another mystery series?

CH: Age made me decide. I have always felt awful that Sue Grafton never got to finish the alphabet books. I also wanted the resolution of what happened to Sarah Booth’s parents to be the final book. At 73, I wanted to make sure it ended the way I envisioned. I owe Sarah Booth and the gang that much. They have been loyal friends and characters.

No, I am not writing any other series at this time. I’m going to venture into supernatural thrillers, I think. Just for a change. I love humorous mysteries, but I am keenly feeling the loss of Sarah Booth and her friends in my life. They have been with me for over 30 years, a big part of each day. I love what I call British horror (no gore). And the challenge of melding that into the structure of a thriller fascinates me. And if I’m going to do it, I’d better get in the saddle and ride.

Q: So, this new book you are working on, is that going to be a singleton then? Will you expand your use of supernatural characters like the” haint”, Jitty, or will aliens take over the page? Or maybe you will use both or haven’t you decided yet?

CH: I am co-writing with Daryl Marcus, a former student of mine. He and I both love horror. We are writing a book with space to go into a series or one that can be a single title, depending on what the publishers are looking for.

It melds the world of the Fae with a very real South Mississippi local and a serial killer. It’s a handful, but we are enjoying the process.

Q: Back to Sarah Booth! One of the things that made reading Joy to the Bones so much for me is how much I immediately related to Sara Booth. She is feisty and fun in ways that made me wish I could sit down and meet her. Is she a lot like you?

CH: Sarah Booth is very much like I was when I was 34--except she is far more limber! I do have a 501c3 animal refuge where I take care of old, unwanted animals in their final years. I've done this my whole life. I have, right now, eight dogs, twelve cats, and two horses. A few crows hang about, but no ravens. I love this so much, but I am getting older now and I am responsible enough to know I have to stop taking in animals. Sarah Booth also adores her friends and, boy, have I been blessed in the friend department. A lot of my friends have died in the last decade, and that is a huge, huge loss. And ending Sarah Booth is another emotional blow. As crazy as it sounds, she was a best friend to me.

Q: Are some of the larger issues Sarah Booth addresses, also issues that you find interesting and have worked on?

CH: There is much emotional truth in the Sarah Booth books. She focuses on issues that I am interested in, afraid of, or concerned about. She has more courage than I do. But she is connected to the land, the natural world, and the people around her, just as I am. I wrote a book in 1994, SUMMER OF THE REDEEMERS. In that book I gave Bekka the emotional fabric of my childhood. Not factually true, but emotionally true. Horse crazy, wild in the woods, ghost stories, adventures not far from home. But Sarah Booth is more the grown up me, only a better version.

Q: So, Summer of the Redeemers was a single book, not part of any series? Did the experience with that book lead you to Sarah Booth?

CH: It was a two-book contract with Dutton for SUMMER and then followed by TOUCHED. Learning plot and structure took some time, and I loved writing both of these books. They could both be classified as Southern Gothic mysteries, but I didn’t know that when I wrote them. They were published as general fiction.

Q: Would you share a bit about how you developed Sarah Booth over the course of the series and how you handled the timing/aging of your cast of characters? When she started out, how old was Sarah Booth? How old is she when the series ends? And if the books cover only a few years, how did you work in the twenty- year past death of her parents?

CH: When the series opens, she is 33. Thirty-one books later, she is only 34 and ½. It is criminally wrong that when I started the series I was 45 and now I am 73? The math isn’t mathing (sic) for me. The whole series arc covers 1and ½ book years--though twenty-eight “human” years.

The car wreck (that caused the death of her parents)happens off screen and years in the past. The books pick up when Sarah Booth is grown and has just returned home to Zinnia from NYC. The thirty-one books cover roughly, twenty months.

Q: Has Sarah Booth’s cast of friends been consistent since the beginning of the series? Was Sarah Booth always a PI? If not, when in the series does Sarah become a PI (this last book of yours is my first read in the series) How does that choice of profession help shape her?

CH: Yes, the primary characters are in the first book and continue throughout. But the relationships grow and change. In THEM BONES, Sarah Booth does a really bad thing out of desperation. She steals Tinkie’s little dog, Chablis. (Jitty supports this plan) and ransoms her back to Tinkie. Tinkie is so impressed, she hires Sarah Booth to solve a mystery. In the third book, SPLINTERED BONES, Sarah Booth and Tinkie begin working together to solve mysteries. Prior to being, a detective, Sarah Booth was in NYC attempting to be a stage actress. Things didn’t work out. (The not working out of her acting career is what prompted Sarah Booth to return to Zinnia)

Q: What prompted you to make the word “Bones” your title “Signature.” Can you tell us a little about how the titles help shape the series and, in your opinion, do the titles help add to its success?

CH: THEM BONES was the first title and when Random House bought the first book at auction, they wanted a 3-book contract. I thought Bones would be a good way to brand the books. And it’s an easy word to work with for titles. Yes, I think titles are really important.

Q: You once mentioned that Zinnia, MS is modeled on your own hometown. Are there any specific places in Zinnia that have real life counterparts with deep meaning for you?

We had a terrific restaurant in Lucedale, my hometown, called The Coffee Pot. Millie’s Cafe is loosely based on that diner. It was a treat to go there for a hamburger steak and coconut pie.

Finally,

Q: Is there anything else you would like to tell your readers, fans of the Sarah Booth Delaney mysteries??

CH: I love to write both light/humorous fiction and also dark fiction. I have a 4-book series called the Pluto Snitch: series which is set in the 1920s and deals with a woman who can talk to the dead and is hired to solve mysteries involved paranormal elements. The first title is THE BOOK OF BELOVED and is set in Mobile, Alabama.

I am in mourning for Sarah Booth and the gang. They have been such a big part of my life—28 years. It’s hard to voluntarily let go of these stories which I love telling. But the art of life is knowing when to let go.

Thank you so much, Carolyn, for your willingness to spend time on these Questions! I am sorry the series is ending since I just discovered it, but I plan to start reading the whole series starting with the first, Them Bones, and work my way back to Joy to the Bones, number 31—that should keep me busy and happy for quite some time.

I do hope you enjoy the books. I have loved every minute of writing them. And thank you for your time in doing this interview. I really appreciate it. --Carolyn

Joan Leotta offers encouraging words on page and stage. Internationally published as essayist, poet, short story writer, novelist, she’s a multiple nominee for Pushcart and Best of Net. Publications include Synkroniciti, MacQueen’s Quinterly, One Art, Gargoyle, The Lake, Lothlorien, Ovunquesiamo, The Mackinaw, Ekphrastic Review, Yellow Mama, Impspired, and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine.

She also performs stories for youth and adult audiences with programs that highlight food, kindness, family, and strong women. Her one woman show as Louisa May Alcott focuses on Alcott’s development as a writer of many genres and her time as a Civil War nurse. She also teaches storytelling and writing and has done so for the North Carolina Poetry Society, NC Writers Network, ND Humanities, and the London Arts-Based Research Center. Contact Joan at Joanleotta@gmail.com

Monday, August 17, 2026

Mystery Fanfare: MANAGING MULTIPLE WRITING PROJECTS WITHOUT GOING BANANAS: Guest Post by Linda S. Gunther

Mystery Fanfare: MANAGING MULTIPLE WRITING PROJECTS WITHOUT GOING B...: Working on a few writing projects simultaneously has become second nature to me. When it comes to juggling projects, I love it. I seek it ou...

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